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Skeksis
The Skeksis, also known as Lords of the Crystal or Regents of Thra, were a reptilian, bird-like race that ruled over Thra throughout the Age of Division. They originated during Thra's second Great Conjunction, when the Fallen urSkeks attempted to purify themselves through the heat of the three suns shining on the Crystal. Instead of being cleansed of their darker natures, each urSkek was split into two beings; Skeksis and urRu, with the Skeksis being the embodiment of the violent, materialistic side of the urSkeks. Despite the separation, there was still a spiritual link between each Skeksis and urRu counterpart, a constant reminder that they were only halves of the same being. If either was wounded, the other felt the pain and suffered an identical injury. If one died, both died.Henson, J. & Oz, F. (dir.); Henson, J., Kurtz, G. & Lazer, D. (prod.); Henson, J. & Odell, D. (writ.) (December 17, 1982). [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083791/ The Dark Crystal] (Motion picture). New York City, NY: Jim Henson Productions. Froud, B., Dysart, J., Sheikman, A. & John, L. (2012). The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Vol. II. Archaia. Posing as benevolent caretakers of the Crystal, the Skeksis were in fact leeching off its power in order to prolong their lives, thus causing the spread of the Darkening. During their thousand-trine rule, the Skeksis formed the Alliance of the Crystal with the Gelflings, keeping the latter divided and subservient. Species that resisted their governance, such as the Gruenaks and Arathim, were either eradicated or evicted from their lands. When the Crystal was exhausted after a millennium of abuse, the Skeksis began to abduct Gelflings in order to drain them of their essence, which had a rejuvenating effect on them. This lead to the formation of the Gelfling resistance and the outbreak of Garthim War. Characteristics Biology and appearance The Skeksis had scaly, reptilian bodies, with beak-like jaws and hooded eyes.Smith, A. C. H., & Odell, D. (1982). The Dark Crystal. Holt, Rinehart and Winston . Like their urRu counterparts, they had four arms and a tail. When they first appeared, the Skeksis were vibrant, agile and brightly coloured creatures, though in the later years of their reign, their secondary arms became withered and atrophied, and their bodies decayed. Their bodies were founded upon deeply disordered principles, with only their heads bearing an intelligible pattern. Unlike the urRu, who evaporated after they died, the Skeksis would crumble into dust, having no soul to slow down the process of decomposition. They also had an acute sense of smell, being able to detect Gelflings meters away and even distinguish them based on their clan. The Skeksis also had three urethra holes as shown when SkekAyuk publicly urinated on a wall. Culture .]] The Skeksis viewed the Great Division as a triumph, and thus had no desire to join back with the urRu. The Skeksis valued power above all else, though their conception of it differed from that of their urRu counterparts. While the urRu believed that true power consisted of spiritual enlightenment, the Skeksis saw it purely as dominating others. They were highly thanatophobic, as they knew that Thra would reject them once they died, and thus they became obsessed with prolonging their lives in order to avoid the torments of what lay beyond death."A Single Piece Was Lost" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 Because of this, they had no rites to commemorate the dead, as having such would have been an acknowledgement of their own mortality."The Crystal Calls" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 The Skeksis were also highly individualistic, each one of them valuing their own interests over the others' ones and wore distinctive outfits to differentiate themselves from their brethren, in great contrast with the collectivist urRu. Prior to adopting moldering robes as symbols of their power and personalities, the Skeksis wore nothing but elaborate, metallic crests and wielded fan-like display devices made from animal parts. When their bodies began to atrophy and rot away, they took to wearing large ornate robes to make themselves look more intimidating. Skeksis art and architecture favored repetitive flamboyance, and their literature was typically committed to Nebrie-skin parchment. Disputes between Skeksis were usually solved through trials of strength,"By Gelfling Hand..." The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 though magnanimous gestures towards beaten opponents were not part of Skeksis tradition. Nevertheless, the killing of another Skeksis was considered taboo, in order to maintain the illusion of their immortality. Skeksis were also fond of feasts and banquets, where Roast Nebries, hot spices, sweet liquors and even living animals were served as food, though most of them had very poor table manners. They also had Podling musicians in the Castle for their pleasure, indicating that they enjoyed music. Language The Skeksis spoke both a high language for ritual and literary purposes, and a demotic one for everyday use. The ritual language was difficult to translate accurately, and was ill-suited for describing long, complex processes, as it was restricted to nouns, adjectives and expletives. Conversely, the demotic speech bore similarities to the Gelfling language. History The Great Division After a thousand trine passed since their arrival on Thra, the Fallen urSkeks created a network of mirrors around the Great Crystal with Aughra's help, intending to trap the light of the next Great Conjunction to re-enter their world and burn out the imperfections in their souls in the process. In preparation for this, the urSkeks invited delegations representing all of Thra's sentient races to watch the occasion. However, one urSkek became wracked by nostalgia after hearing a member of the Gelfling delegation play an urSkek song, and allowed its darker nature to overwhelm it. Raunip exacerbated the situation by showing his distrust of the urSkeks for being outsiders who were exiled to Thra. When the Three Suns met, the dark-hearted urSkek's rage prevented the rest of the urSkeks from entering the Crystal and being cleansed. Instead of being purified, the urSkeks were divided into two separate species; the cruel Skeksis and gentle urRu. The Skeksis awoke from The Great Division filled with hate, for each other and their urRu counterparts. Shortly after gaining consciousness in the Crystal Chamber, one of the Skeksis attacked and killed two urRu, thus resulting in the deaths of itself and another Skeksis. The remaining 16 Skeksis drove the urRu and the delegations out of the Castle, leaving only Aughra and her son Raunip behind. Aughra attempted to convince the Skeksis to call back the urRu, and attempt to rectify the Division. The Skeksis refused, and one of them attacked the Great Crystal, chipping off a single shard. Forming the Alliance of the Crystal ]] Some time later, a Skeksis named skekSo took control and spread the lie that the urSkeks had departed Thra and left the Skeksis as guardians of the Crystal. SkekSo subsequently learned of the Makrak raids in Podling and Gelfling territory. Hoping to take advantage of the panic, skekSo offered to protect the Gelflings in exchange for weapons, effectively giving the Skeksis the tools they could later use to oppress other races. Together with elder Carn, skekSo proclaimed the formation of the Alliance of the Crystal, which remained in vigor even after the urRu resolved the Makrak crisis peacefully.B. Froud, M. Dow Smith, A. Sheikman & L. John (2015). The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Vol. III. Archaia. . skekSo's reign The next few centuries saw the expansion of the Skeksis' Empire and the consolidation of their control over the Gelflings. In order to keep their Gelfling subjects divided and subservient, the Skeksis fomented division among the once harmonious Gelfling Clans, placing the Vapra Clan in a position of supremacy and privileging it over all others."End. Begin. All the Same." The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 To avoid having Aughra interfere in their projects, they convinced her to entrust the Crystal to them, tempting her to leave Thra and explore the stars."Nothing Is Simple Anymore" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 Once Aughra isolated herself, the Skeksis began to immediately abuse the power of the Crystal, leaching off of the power it once used to keep Thra in balance, thus spreading the corruption known as the Darkening. The Skeksis dealt ruthlessly with any race that refused to submit to them: the Gruenaks were almost exterminated,"What Was Sundered and Undone" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 while the Arathim were driven from Grot, which was then given to the ancestors of the Grottan Clan."Time to Make...My Move" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 Over 600 trine after the Great Division, skekGra the Conqueror received a vision from Thra prompting him to promote urRu-Skeksis unity. The Conqueror was branded a heretic and exiled to the Circle of the Suns. It was here he met his urRu counterpart, urGoh the Wanderer and the two of them eventually found the Shard of the Division and placed it in a weapon they forged together called the Dual Glaive, intending to give it to the Gelfling and end Skeksis' power. Collapse of the Alliance ]] A thousand trine into their rule, the Skeksis had drained the Crystal so thoroughly that it no longer granted them its energy. The scientist skekTek was ordered to find a solution and he discovered that the Crystal had the ability to extract the essence from life forms exposed to its rays. The Skeksis subsequently began to clandestinely drain their Gelfling subjects of their life force in order to create an elixir which could halt their aging. SkekSo began to also secretly experiment with the Darkening, whose spread began to accelerate once the draining had begun."The First Thing I Remember Is Fire" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 Keeping their true intentions a secret, they concocted an Arathim rebellion and demanded seven able-bodied Gelflings from each clan from All-Maudra Mayrin to act as volunteers in the conflict. Mayrin, having been informed of the truth by an awakened Aughra and Rian, who had witnessed the essence extraction first hand, denounced the Skeksis and was killed for her insubordination."She Knows All the Secrets" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 The killing prompted a rebellion among the Stonewood Clan, which the Skeksis crushed after forming an alliance with the Arathim, promising to return their ancestral home of Grot to them."Time to Make...My Move" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 With the Alliance effectively dissolved, the Skeksis rejected the truce proposed by the new All-Maudra Seladon and dropped all pretenses of caring for the Gelfling."Prophets Don't Know Everything" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 Once the Gelfling resistance was proclaimed, the Skeksis attempted to crush the uprising during the Second Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood, but were forced to retreat after the Arathim turned on them and the resistance fighters received reinforcements from the Gelfling clans. The defeat was a huge blow to Skeksis morale, as it resulted in the first Skeksis deaths since the Great Division and also lead to the resistance finding the lost Shard of the Division. The loss prompted the Skeksis to counterattack with their newly created army of Garthim."A Single Piece Was Lost" The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. Netflix. August 30, 2019 After discovering a prophecy that told of how the Gelflings would bring about the downfall of the Skeksis Empire, skekSo ordered the total extermination of the Gelfling race, thus starting the Garthim War, which resulted in the deaths of all but two Gelflings, Jen and Kira. Rise of skekUng has skekSil stripped and banished.]] By the time skekSo died, only nine Skeksis remained, and bickering over a successor began almost immediately. As well as skekSo's former faction consisting of skekSil, skekEkt and skekOk, two other alliances were formed; that of the Garthim Master skekUng, which included the Scientist skekTek and the Slave Master skekNa, and that of the Ritual Master skekZok, which included the Gourmand skekAyuk and the Treasurer skekShod. SkekZok abstained from the ensuing Trial by Stone, which ended with the triumph of skekUng and the banishment of skekSil. SkekUng's coronation was interrupted when the Skeksis were summoned to the Crystal Chamber, and saw an image of Jen climbing Aughra's high hill in search of the lost shard. The Garthim were dispatched, but the Gelfling escaped, and a further survey of the surrounding area with Crystal Bats revealed the existence of Kira, another survivor. SkekSil managed to regain his position after capturing Kira, though she escaped, causing the death of skekTek in the process. The remaining eight Skeksis converged at the Crystal Chamber, awaiting the third Great Conjunction which would grant them perpetual life. There, they encountered Jen and Kira dangerously close to the Crystal. Despite summoning the Garthim, and managing to kill Kira, the Skeksis were helpless as Jen healed the Dark Crystal. In the ensuing panic, the urRu entered the Castle and merged with the Skeksis. Legacy ]] During the Age of Power, the Skeksis' artifacts within the Castle were gathered in skekTek's former laboratory and kept as reminders of their misrule. The religious leader of the new Gelfling Nation, the Crystalline Eminence, decreed that their return could be prevented by giving material offerings to the Crystal.Spurrier, S., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #2, Archaia, USA, April 2017 Other relics, found scattered throughout Thra, would be taken by crime lords and used to subjugate impoverished cities, in particular Dagger Root, whose self-proclaimed ruler, Trunk, tortured those who defied him by keeping them in Skeksis-forged chains which made them develop an obsessive Skeksis-like avarice.Smith, A., Beneath the Dark Crystal, #5, Archaia, USA, December 2018 Return 100 trine after their defeat, the eight surviving Skeksis were returned to existence, alongside their urRu counterparts, after the Fireling Thurma took a Shard from the Crystal in a misguided quest to restore her homeland's dying Mother Sun. The Skeksis, who spoke of having been "imprisoned" these 100 trine, immediately ostracised skekSil, who was blamed for their past failure, but were detained before they could do any real damage.Spurrier, S., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #3, Archaia, USA, May 2017 When confronted by the Crystalline Eminence, the Skeksis challenged him to gaze into the Crystal's light,Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #6, Archaia, USA, August 2017 and was compelled to release them.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #7, Archaia, USA, September 2017 The Skeksis proceeded to ransack the Castle and drain the essence from any servant unable to escape them. They attempted to seize Aughra and Kira, but the two barricaded themselves in the Castle's upper towers.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #8, Archaia, USA, October 2017 When Jen returned to the Castle riding atop Bohrtog, the Skeksis summoned the Crystal Bats to attack him, causing him to fall.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #9, Archaia, USA, December 2017 Before they could kill him, Kira intervened with a troop of archers and carried him to safety. Frustrated by their lack of progress in breaching the barricades, skekUng consumed the Crystalline Eminence's essence and used his newfound strength to bare handedly batter down the fortifications leading to Jen and Kira's chambers.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #10, Archaia, USA, January 2018 He and the other Skeksis were prevented from killing them by the urRu, who summoned a premature Great Conjunction which shattered the Castle, separating the Skeksis from their intended victims.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #11, Archaia, USA, February 2018 After Thurma returned, she restored the Crystal and the Skeksis were once again merged with the urRu.Spurrier, S. & Kennedy Johnson, P., The Power of the Dark Crystal, #12, Archaia, USA, March 2018 Behind the scenes Creation The Skeksis were the first creatures of The Dark Crystal to have been conceived by Jim Henson,J. Sayers, "Muppeteer Jim Henson begins an odyssey into the fantastic world of The Dark Crystal". Prevue. January 1983:28-31. who had been inspired after seeing an image of crocodiles living in a castle in an illustrated edition of Lewis Carroll's The Pig-Tale in 1975. He became fascinated by the idea of reptiles wearing elegant clothes and having sophisticated conversations during "gruesome cocktail parties".A. Jones, "The Dark Crystal". Starburst. N° 55, 1983:22-27.C. Finch, The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film, Henry Holt & Co, 1983, p. 19, . The precursors of the Skeksis appeared in The Mithra Treatment, where they were identified as the "Reptus group". The Reptus would have assumed control over the Mithra region twenty years prior to the events of the story in a coup against the Eunaze (the prototypes of the Gelflings), who were weakened by generations of easy living. Henson described the Reptus as a totalitarian society, whose members are "sunken in character, depraved, corrupt and vicious, and cruel to one another". They would have lived in a citadel which they never left, spending their lives showing off and controlling the world's mineral resources through an army of shelled warriors, for whom cannibalism is a common penalty for failure.Jim Henson, The Mithra Treatment special Feature. The Dark Cyrstal: Collector's Edition, Dir. Jim Henson & Frank Oz. 1982. Colombia Tristar Home Entertainment, 2003. DVD. Henson described the Reptus further in the following terms: Henson wrote that their ugliness is in contrast with their elegant robes, characterized by silk, brocade and lace, and that all their power is concentrated in a physical object, probably made of magnetite. During the Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978, when Henson was snowed in for 72 hours in a hotel, he began to elaborate on the Reptus. He renamed them "Skeksis" and modified their connection to the Bada (the wizards of Thra, later renamed urRu), from being simple oppressors to the latter to being separate branches of the same creature.C. Gaines, The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History, Titan Books, 2017, p. 28, . He further added that the Skeksis, being incomplete creatures, are incapable of reproducing themselves, and attempt to create more members of their kind by experimenting on various animal carcasses. This new draft, entitled The Crystal, was further modified by Frank Oz, who included the rivalry between the two pretenders to the throne (named "Mal" and "Mongra").C. Gaines, The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History, Titan Books, 2017, pp. 31, 35, . When the first screenplay had been written, screenwriter David Odell elaborated further on the Skeksis' society, giving each one a title or profession. The word "Skeksis" was originally meant to be a plural, with "Skesis" as singular, but the idea was dropped early on.David Odell (2012), "Reflections on Making The Dark Crystal and Working with Jim Henson". In: Froud, B., Dysart, J., Sheikman, A. & John, L. The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Vol. II. Archaia. Henson wanted the Skeksis to speak their own language, with their dialogue subtitled in English. The responsibility for composing the language, and what it was based on, differs from source to source. Gary Kurts stated that it was Alan Garner who created it, basing it on Ancient Egyptian,D. Hutchinson. "Producing the world of The Dark Crystal: A new direction for the man behind ‘Star Wars" and "Empire" Gary Kurtz". Starlog: The Magazine of the Future. 66 (January 1983):19-20. while David Odell claimed responsibility for it, stating that he based it on Indo-European roots. This idea was abandoned after test screening audiences reacted negatively to it. Design In visualising the Skeksis, Henson had in mind the seven deadly sins, though as there were ten Skeksis, some sins were invented or used twice.Making-of. The World of the Dark Crystal. Dir. Jim Henson & Frank Oz. 1982. Colombia Tristar Home video, 1999. DVD. Initially, Brian Froud designed the Skeksis with deep sea fish in mind,Making-of. Reflections of the Dark Crystal: Light on the Path of Creation. Dir. Michael Gillis. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2007. DVD. but later redesigned them as "part reptile, part predatory bird, part dragon", with a focus on giving them a "penetrating stare". In order to better allude to the connection between the Skeksis and urRu, the two species were given the same shape, but with more angular features for the former. Each Skeksis was conceived with the idea that each one had a defined role, so it was decided to clothe each Skeksis in multicoloured robes to reflect their personalities and thoughts. Froud's idea was for the robes to make the Skeksis look like a mix of a character from a Jacobean tragedy, Dorian Gray and Miss Havisham.Brian Froud (2003), "A Journey into The Dark Crystal". In: Froud, B. & Llewellyn, J. J., The World of the Dark Crystal. Pavilion Books. Construction and shooting From a technical standpoint, the Skeksis were the most complex creatures of the film, with the head alone consisting of numerous mechanical components.M. Stein, "Inside The Dark Crystal". Fantastic Films. May 1983:18-23; 30; 58. Most of the work in constructing the Skeksis puppets was done by sculptor Lyle Conway, who had previously worked on doll making and commercials with stop-motion animation.[http://www.darkcrystal.com/encyclopedia_skeksis.php The Skeksis], Darkcrystal.com The Skeksis puppets were two and a half times taller than the Gelfling ones,D. Chase, "In search of The Dark Crystal". Theatre Crafts. January 1983:27-32. and each one was operated by a main puppeteer who handled head and body movements, and a team of four assistants responsible for facial and eye movements through cables hidden beneath the robes. The puppeteer would hide beneath the robes with an arm extended into the Skeksis' neck and head and a harness placed around the puppeteers hips.C. Finch, The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film, Henry Holt & Co, 1983, p. 31, . As there was little visibility in the suits, each one was fitted with a closed circuit monitor which allowed the puppeteer to see what was happening outside.C. Gaines, The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History, Titan Books, 2017, p. 85, . The hand movements, based on those of Dick Smith, who had lost a finger a decade earlier, were done through flexible rods operated by a hand-held trigger device which flexed each finger. In long shots, where the Skeksis were shown walking, they were portrayed by actors with dwarfism.K. Von Gunden, Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films, MacFarland, 1989, p. 37, . Under the supervision of costume designer Sarah Bradpiece, the Skeksis' robes were conceived as reflecting their status as supreme, but decadent beings. Bradpiece fabricated the robes with expensive silks, velvet, lace, brocade, furs and exotic feathers.C. Finch, The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film, Henry Holt & Co, 1983, pp. 44-45, . Some of the Skeksis' jewels were made with melted plastic toy soldiers.D. Snow, "The world beyond the Muppets". You: The Mail on Sunday Magazine. 28 novembre 1982:10-14. Once sewn together, the suits were torn and stained with paint and fake dirt. The banquet scene was the last to be filmed, and the puppeteers used it as an opportunity to let off steam after months of shooting: while at first the Skeksis puppets were treated with velvet gloves, in this scene they were freely dirtied with rancid noodles and drenched in water, as the latex skin was at that point already crumbling.K. Von Gunden, Flights of Fancy: The Great Fantasy Films, MacFarland, 1989, p. 41, . Gallery Instagram images SkekEkt Instagram.jpg|The Ornamentalist.|link= SkekAyuk Instagram.jpg|The Gourmand.|link= SkekVar Instagram.jpg|The General.|link= SkekTek Instagram.jpg|The Scientist.|link= Skeksis Instagram 1.jpg|The Skeksis have been in possession of the Crystal of Truth for many trine.|link= SkekOk Instagram.jpg|The Scroll-Keeper.|link= SkekSil Instgarm.jpg|The Chamberlain.|link= Skeksis Instagram 2.jpg|When the Gelfling find out what they've been doing with it, there will be trouble.|link= SkekZok Instagram.jpg|The Ritual Master.|link= SkekMal Instagram.jpg|The Hunter.|link= SkekSo Instagram.jpg|The Emperor.|link= SkekLach Instagram.jpg|The Collector.|link= References External Links * * * * }} Category:Skeksis Category:Non-native Thra species